Blood Lust
by EverKitsune
Summary: Zhou Yu is a college student, surrounded by a world that’s pretty much normal. But that all changes when he gets bitten by a vampire a creature that isn't supposed to exist. AU Multiple noncannon pairings rating subject to change
1. Chapter 1

**Blood Lust**

**Summary: Zhou Yu is a college student, surrounded by a world that's pretty much normal. But that all changes when he's bitten by a creature that's supposed to be a legend. AU**

**Warnings: Slash, gore, language, non canon pairings, alternate universe etc. What else would you expect from a vampire fic? **

**Main Pairing is Zhou Yu/Sun Ce although it may take a little while for it to show up, and all others will be revealed as the story progresses. **

**DISCLAIMER: Dynasty warriors is the property of KOEI and related companies. All the popular culture items in this fanfic to not belong to me. **

**The vampires in this fic will be more like Stephanie Meyer's vampires (from her Twilight series) but with a few twists. The bait theory from CLAMP's Tsubasa Chronicle will also be used. There may or may not be a few of my own twists as well. Just don't scream at me because they don't sleep in coffins and aren't traditional Dracula. **

**Chapter One**

Mornings were usually slow until you stepped out into the city traffic. Busses rolled by, lumbering giants full of people racing to their next stop. Cars rushed by; full of people racing to get their kids to school and still have time to go grab a morning coffee before they had to go in to work. The cold chill descended upon the people who were stuck walking on the crowded side walks. They crowded the subway stations and shouted for the Taxi, vying for the quickest way to their destination and away from the autumn weather. Dark clouds loomed ominously above the sky scrapers, reminding the busy people that they could be floundering in rain at any moment.

A dark haired young man jogged the final steps to the side door of the coffee shop, balancing two Styrofoam coffee cups in one hand and the newspaper under his arm as he dragged a key out of his pocket. He slid the brass into the lock and fought with it for a moment before the door decided to open. He kicked the door open with his foot and withdrew the key from the handle after a few impatient jingles. Slamming the door shut behind him carelessly, he shoved the key back into his pocket and stomped up the narrow stairs to the top of the shop.

He shoved the inner door open and slid his socked feet out of his shoes, swiping a hand through his long bangs. His eyes traveled over the living room of the apartment he shared with his room mate and came to rest on the fluffy couch with the living couch potato hidden in the fluff.

The chestnut haired young man on the couch raised his eyes from the TV he had been channel surfing and raised an expectant hand. "Is that coffee I smell?" The dark haired man who just entered raised an eyebrow but crossed the room, weaving expertly around the crowded coffee table to set one of the warm Styrofoam cups into the waiting hand.

Dark eyes glanced over the boxers and tang top worn by the couch potato. "Get dressed Sun Ce, we have class soon." He dropped the news paper onto his friends stomach with an impatient scoff and moved away towards the bathroom. "It's going to rain today."

Sun Ce shrugged, unfolding the paper as his roommate fiddled around in the bathroom. He lifted the coffee to his lips and took a sip, wincing as it burned his tongue. The bitter taste filled his mouth and he moved it around with his tongue as he read the headlines.

"_ANOTHER UNEXPLAINED BODY FOUND" _ran across the main page of the paper. "Hey, Yu, another strange attack last night." Sun Ce called, fiddling his feet around from their place on the table surface. His eyes scanned the rest of the column before he folded it back up and dropped it to the table. He picked up his coffee once more and the TV remote, flicking through the channels to the news cast.

"_...In other news, there was another body found last night in a back alley. The victim was identified as Diao Chan, a student at the local university, and proclaimed dead at the scene. The body was found completely unblemished save bite marks in the neck, and a few other miner injuries that indicated to struggle. The victim's body was completely drained of blood. Authorities are looking..."_ The news reporter blabbed on, but Sun Ce hit the mute button so that he wouldn't have to talk over her.

"Hey Yu, wasn't Diao Chan in one of our classes?"

Zhou Yu came out of the bathroom with a one eyebrow slightly raised as he took a seat next to his companion and picked up the newspaper. "I don't know Ce, I pay more attention to learning than the people in class." He unfolded it to the front page and read quickly. "This makes the fifth person found like this."

Sun Ce scowled, flicking bangs out of his eyes as he lifted the coffee cup to his lips and took a huge gulp. "Yeah, well the _authorities,_" He mimicked the reporter's business like voice, "don't seem to be doing anything at all."

Zhou Yu impatiently checked his watch. "Well, its not like they can do anything. There probably aren't many clues. Bite marks, blood drained..." He frowned, sipping his coffee slowly, mulling the two idea's over in his mind. "Its like a horror film."

Sun Ce grinned suddenly and lightly punched Zhou Yu in the shoulder. "See! I told you that vampires are real!" he raised his arms above his head and stretched, hopping to his feet with uncontrollable energy and rolling his shoulders at the end of his stretch. He placed the empty Styrofoam on the coffee table and flashed his friend a grin before escaping to their shared bedroom.

Zhou Yu rolled his eyes, finishing his coffee and bringing the cups to the kitchen area on the other side of the living room, dumping them in the trash. He leaned against the counter and checked his watch again. "Ce, vampires are folk lore invented for amusement. Now hurry up or we'll be late."

Sun Ce tossed his shirt on and zipped his jeans, shoving a hooded sweatshirt on over his shirt as he left the bedroom. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." He lifted the laptop the college provided for them and shoved it into its back, looping the arm strap over his shoulder.

Zhou Yu was already at the door, his long coat in one arm and the door open with the other. Sun Ce smirked, taking his time with his shoes to get on his roommate's nerves. "Ce! Come on!" Zhou Yu finally growled, and Sun Ce sprinted out the door with a bark of laughter. Zhou Yu followed in his wake with an aggravated air, pulling on his jacket as they stomped down the steps and into the busy street.

Sun Ce groaned as rain splattered onto him. "Aw man, Its raining!" His bright eyes looked up at the sky as rain fell down on them between the skyscrapers of the city.

Zhou Yu rolled his eyes, fiddling with the lock for the second time that day. "I told you it would." the key came loose finally, and he shoved it back into his pocket, dashing after Sun Ce under the downpour. The rain had already soaked his hair and sent drops down his neck. "If we hurry we can make Main street before the traffic jam sets in." He moved to the driver's side of his small dark blue colored car and unlocked it, setting down and pushing the key into the ignition, waiting for Sun Ce to hop into he passenger side.

"Y'mean, if we make it to Main street." The other drenched college student said glumly, pulling on his seatbelt and moving his computer to his lap.

"Exactly," Zhou Yu said, pulling out of his parking spot and into the morning traffic. Sun Ce fiddled with the radio as he rounded the corner and pressed the gas lightly until he met the next group of cars.

"Man, I hate Wednesdays," Sun Ce groaned, sitting back and letting his foot tap to a song on the radio.

Zhou Yu scoffed, "You hate everyday that you have to go to class. I suppose you love tomorrow then."

Sun Ce flashed the driver a grin that went unseen. "Well duh, its class-free."

Zhou Yu eased the car behind another vehicle and stopped at a red light. He flashed his companion an amused look. "Ce, you know those papers are due today."

Sun Ce smirked, "Yeah, I know, I finished it."

Zhou Yu's eyes widened in mild surprise. "Oh really? How many pages?"

"Ten."

"Typed?"

"Yep, and double spaced."

Zhou Yu sighed and took off as the light turned green. "You know its supposed to be single spaced, right?"

Sun Ce nodded. "Yeah, I know, but I couldn't figure out how to get it to single spaced after I changed it to double."

Zhou Yu shook his head, driving around a slow truck on the road. "You are an idiot, how can you expect to get a good mark?" He glanced at the clock as he pulled into the parking lot area of the university. "Come on, hurry up Ce." He turned the car off and pulled the key from the ignition, leaving the drivers side and stepping out into the downpour. He opened the back door and hefted his bag strap to his shoulder, closing and locking the car after Sun Ce shut the door.

They ran through the rain and joined a group of last minute stragglers, entering the dry lobby of the college building. Sun Ce shook his head, sending droplets of rain all over Zhou Yu and the floor, much to the great displeasure of everyone else. A few moments later however they had entered the class and taken seats near the back.

Another late comer burst in through the doors at the last moment and took a seat at the end of the back row next to Zhou Yu. Looking up, the long dark haired college student couldn't place the person as someone he'd ever seen before. The girl had pretty brown hair tied up behind her face in a long, elaborate pony tail. Her skin was rather pale, but she wore an orange tang top with a matching see through jacket, and a short jean skirt. Her boots were the expensive kind; The type that didn't break the first time you used them.

She set her laptop on the desk and looked up, meeting his curious stare. She gazed at him a moment longer, then flashed him a bubbly smile and held out a hand. "Hi! My name is Xiao, what's yours?"

Had Zhou Yu known that meeting this girl would have changed - and ended - his life, he never would have taken her hand. All things considered, he wouldn't have even left the apartment that day.

But as it were, he had no ability to read the future, and he took her hand with a slight smile. Her hand was icy cold, and he deduced that she must have been out in the rain for a long time. "Zhou Yu." The girl looked more like she should have been in high school than attending college.

For a moment as he held her gaze, the eyes turned dark red, and the pupils changed. They were strangely slanted like a cat, but with another one inside the slanted one. But Zhou Yu blinked and looked at her eyes again, and they were normal once again.

Xiao giggled, "Are you going to drop my hand anytime soon?" She smiled cutely at him. "Class is starting."

Zhou Yu started and released her hand tearing his gaze away from her own and looking towards the front of the room, where the professor had started his lecture.

-x-

The elaborate structure of the old Victoria Suit Hotel stood tall and grand in the middle of the city. The elaborate Victorian arches and statuettes once gave the hotel its name as one of the most famous place for the upperclass to stay. Although the place eventually closed down during the Great Depression, the city never took it down, as the owner never consented to its destruction, nor had he died.

The city had almost grown up around the smooth brick building, growing from a small town to a crowded metropolis before the old hotel's very doors. Contrary to the belief of the public, it was still inhabited; by rats and bats and darker beings. These darker beings were human like creatures that fed on sucking the blood from living victims. Human folklore referred to them as vampires.

One such being sat at the desk of a vanity in one of the many old rooms. It was lavishly decorated, with an old four post bed in one corner, the dark red quilt lay over the mattress, untouched for decades. Matching dark curtains hung over the beautifully carved window - hiding the bustling city from view. The eternally young girl sitting at the vanity brushed her dark shining hair slowly, even though there was no need. Her hazel eyes stared blankly at the empty mirror that should have held her pretty reflection.

She was elaborately dressed in a high collared Lolita styled outfit. A lacy collar and soft silk and lace black gloves matched the frilly dress perfectly, along with the lace socks that came up to her thighs. The dark color against her pale skin made it shine unnaturally, even in the gloom. She placed the brush on the vanity and pined up her hair with practiced ease, knowing what it looked like even though she hadn't seen her own face in a long time.

"Xing Cai." She looked over at the intruder to her room, hazel eyes questioning as she stood from her place by the vanity.

"What is it Zhao Yun?" She asked, coming over to the other creature who had dressed himself in modern clothes, a white T-shirt and tan khaki pants, looking completely out of place in her room.

He crossed the room quickly and took her gloved hand in his own pale hand. He pulled off the scented black glove and lifted the pale hand to his nose, sniffing. His eyes widened as though he had just confirmed something. He gave a long sigh, and sat down next to her on her elaborate black couch.

"Cai, I know that its hard to resist..."

Xing Cai pulled her hands away from his own and looked away, pulling her black glove back on and looking away from him. "I know..." She bit her lip. "It wasn't supposed to happen...But it was her scent...her blood was far to appealing. And I thought...with all the other killings..."

Zhao Yun grasped her chin with strong fingers and tore her head over so that she was staring into his green eyes. "It is not good to kill the humans. We have been trying to live among them for so long Cai. Don't weaken now."

She hesitated. "I know...but I haven't been able suppress the longing as long as you and the others. And she was already bleeding when I got there..." She remembered the sweet smell of the blood that overpowered her senses and awakened her dormant hunger.

"Cai, you have to suppress the blood lust if you want to continue living among humans. With the other killer running around and making the human public frantic with fear, we can't afford to be careless." Zhao Yun sighed. "I know you haven't had the chance to get used to the longing that much, but it does dim a little as time goes by. If you have determination not to be drawn in, we can live off the blood of chickens and other animals."

Xing Cai nodded, "I know important it is. But even vampire's that eat human blood are careful not to be discovered, why is this one feeding so openly?"

He shrugged and pulled a hand through his long brown hair. "I'm not sure yet, but I'm going out to see if I can find out why." He stood and walked over to the window, pulling open the curtain and allowing faint light to cross the dreary room. "The forecast calls for rain all week," He smiled and vanished from the window.

To mortal eyes he would have just vanished, but Xing Cai knew that he was running through the halls of the hotel. She watched through the window until he ran out of the building, agilely avoiding the people on the sidewalks without being seen. She watched him dash into a dark alley and come out a moment later, walking slowly through the crowds at human pace.

No one among all the humans realized that they were walking with a monster that could turn murderous and kill them at any moment. To their eyes, Xing Cai observed, he was just a beautiful person who was amazingly graceful and fluid in his movements and speech.

She admired him for his amazing strength. He hadn't touched to blood of humans for centuries, defying the natural make up of a vampires DNA. She didn't seem to have nearly as much strength. The poor girl, Diao Chan, hadn't even seen her coming. She suppressed the monster within her that said she had done a good job of hunting. The first blood had come from when the girl had fallen over and cut herself. Though she couldn't remember to much of what had happened after the scent had stolen her senses, the girl had given off a blood curdling scream that had hurt Xing Cai's sensitive ears. The young woman had called out for someone, but by then fangs had pierced skin and the venom had stopped her lungs. She had been dead in moments, and Xing Cai had feasted on human blood.

She dropped the curtain back over the gloomy world, walking to her large bookshelf and pulling out an old notebook. She took a seat at her desk and opened the cover to a new page. This was the journal she had started far back when she was a human. After a while of being the living dead, human memories seem to fade, so she was glad for the effort she had put into her human days. She had written that she had been diagnosed with a fatal disease, and on her deathbed, while she lay delirious with pain an fever, and angel had appeared and gave her a life. And this was the life she now led. The deal had been made as soon as the pain had ended. She would join Zhao Yun and the other vampires that lived in the 'abandoned' hotel and keep from drinking human blood. As long as she coexisted peacefully with the humans and tried hard to keep from killing them off, she could stay.

She had written of many things in the journal. Sometimes she wrote history from a first hand account that could make modern historians jealous. Her journal only dated back to the very late 1800s, as she had been born in 1894, her Grandfather was one of the Chinese miners that had worked on the Union Pacific Railroad. 1 She picked up her ink pen in her glove covered hands and started writing of the events that had unfolded.

-x-

Sun Ce stretched, reaching his arms skyward with a loud yawn. "Aw man, that was so boring, why do I even take this class?"

Zhou Yu frowned, "Probably because you have no idea what you want to do with your life yet, so you took the schedule that is supposed to help you decide what to do."

Sun Ce waved his hand indifferently. "Yeah, whatever you say." He glanced outside the doors of the building. "Aw man, its still raining. Hey Yu, can I take the car home later? I still have to pick up my sister's cat from Dad's."

Zhou Yu frowned, thinking of Sun Shang Xiang, the energetic senior in high school. "Why? Isn't she there to take care of her own pet?"

Sun Ce elbowed him in the ribs. "Their going on a trip remember? Someone has to take care of it!"

Zhou Yu scowled. "It's a _cat. _They can take care of themselves just fine."

Sun Ce gave him a pleading look, "Please Yu? Shang Xiang will kill me if I leave that thing alone. She says it needs human affection or something."

Blowing dark bangs out of his eyes, Zhou Yu dug his key out of his pocket and dropped it in the waiting hand. "Be careful with it Ce. No speed racing cars on the freeway."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. You know, you could always come along." Sun Ce grinned, catching the key in his fingers and flipping it up and down.

Had Zhou Yu known at the time that coming with Sun Ce might have kept him alive that day, perhaps he would have accepted. But then again, fate has a strange way of catching up to you. "No, I think I'd rather walk. Last time your sister saw me she almost kick-boxed my head into a wall."

Sun Ce laughed, then turned on his heel and ran out into the rain, determined to beat the next rush hour and get to the free way before the traffic jams. With a shake of his head, Zhou Yu pulled his jacket a little tighter around himself and stepped out into the soaking rain.

The downpour from the heavens had not only thickened, but a strong wind had picked up, though it was buffered by the many buildings around. A few people ventured out into the city now, either not up to fighting with the wind and rain, or already in their respectful jobs. Though it was almost two o' clock, the clouds looming above them made it seem like late evening.

Zhou Yu walked quickly through the downpour, wind making the rain whip at him harshly. He cut across the main road and ran into the narrow alleyway that was a sure shortcut through the city and came out almost directly next to the coffee shop and his apartment. He glanced down at his wrist watch. The coffee shop they lived above was also where he had his part-time job. His shift today started at four. He may have had plenty of time to get there with the shortcut, but he wanted to get out of the rain as quickly as he could.

The alley was narrow, and the buildings rose on either side of him like canyons. The narrow walkway was littered with junk and garbage cans tipped over on their side by city vermin. Doors to bars and prostitute havens that were usually bright and welcoming for customers were all closed for the day-time hours, more for the night-life than anything in the day.

He scowled as he passed them, hurrying on his way through the storm before the lightning started in. He turned the corner into a slightly larger alley that could fit more than a person and walked briskly towards the exit.

His thoughts were preoccupied with what he would do when he got home that he didn't even notice the menacing hiss before he was slammed against the side of a building. Zhou Yu gasped in surprise, his bag sliding off his shoulder and into the puddle of rainwater at his feet. He staggered under the sheer force of the blow and felt his head spin as it collided with the brick wall. He fell against broken glass and felt blood running down his arm.

His eyes felt unfocused, but as he looked up, he saw his attacker through the gloom of the alley and the rain. The face was melded in shadow, but the person moved with uncommon agility and had bitten into his neck before he could get his mind into action.

The cold teeth pierced his neck and he cried out in surprise, trying to get his mind to work. His limbs were already paralyzed. He couldn't breath, he couldn't think. Then his attacker was wrenched away from him with a horrible hiss, and Zhou Yu slumped backwards into the glass.

Before the pain hit him, the back of his mind realized that there were two people above him, his attacker and his savior, but in the broken mirror under him there was no one at all.

And then came the pain. It spread throughout his body like wildfire, burning him from his veins out. Then his head smacked the wall again and he was released into a blissful unconsciousness.

_See! I told you that vampires are real!_

**TBC...**

**1 The union pacific railroad is the Transcontinental Railway in America that spread from one end of the country to the other, uniting the U.S. for the first time from East to West coast. **

**I hope you guys enjoy it! Please let me know if there are any mistakes that I didn't catch and any other problems that you've encountered. **

**Please review, I'd like to know your feedback before the next chapter. **

**By the way, you can say this is a crossover with Stephanie Meyer's series if you want, but I assure you, Edward and Bella and all her other characters are not involved at all. I'm merely borrowing her idea's for vampires, and I promise to return them when I'm finished. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Blood Lust**

**The disclaimer is in the first chapter.**

**Chapter Two**

He was unconscious for only a second, but as he awoke, there was a strange noise that he could not pin down. His eyes had stopped working, so he couldn't tell what was making the noise.

The pain. The horrible, terrifying pain slammed against his chest as venom stopped his lungs. The noise gave a stuttering gasp and died, before it started up again. The pain attacked his heart, and the noise grew louder - if only he could find the source of that noise and make it stop. It was unbearable, the utter searing pain that flowed like lava through his very veins. His back arched, and his fingers dug into the glass underneath him. His mind screamed at him, but he couldn't understand what it was trying to tell him.

He was dying. He felt it as his heart sputtered and died - just like his lungs had stopped. As he realized this, the strange noise died. But even though he was dying - was dead - The pain wouldn't leave him. He wasn't falling into that deep unconsciousness that would give him peace from the pain.

It was never ending. It rattled his body and somewhere during the long, burning pain that never ceased he realized that his mind had stopped talking to him. He was alone now, in the vast darkness that was riddled with nothing but the pain. He was alone for so very long, without anything; without himself, without light, without a reprieve, with nothing but pain.

It dragged on like a horrible nightmare. No matter how long he ran he could never reach the exit. The exit that led to freedom and away from the everlasting pain. His blood boiled, he twisted and turned, but it did nothing. He could do nothing. The pain in his body, his mind, his soul. The pain would not disappear. He wanted nothing more than to fall unconscious again, like he had those very first moments, when the unimaginable pain had started.

But that was before he had died. Now he had nothing but the pain. The pain and the small part of himself that realized this sickening and horrifying truth. He hated this realization. He didn't want the pain. He hated it. He loathed it with every fiber of his being.

But The Pain could be destroyed, killed, maimed. He could tear it apart, stop the pain the same way the pain had killed him. He could destroy the pain and drive his fangs deep into its flesh to make it stop. He could drive claws into it. He could attract the pain, since it loved to hurt him so much. He could make it come for him, then he could stab right through the heart of the pain, because who wanted to drink the blood of such a painful creature anyway?

Then another voice appeared. It sounded familiar, like he should realize who it was. He snarled at it, intent on destroying the pain. The voice didn't back down. It spoke, but he couldn't hear it. He could hear nothing but the pain.

The voice shouted and he heard one of the words that caused the snarl in his throat to catch and die. _Ce. _He gasped, the whole dark abyss that he fell into flickered and turned white with a flash of clarity. He welcomed the voice then, realizing it was his mind. It had taken an extended vacation, to get away from The Pain. But now it came back to rescue him and take him back to Sun Ce. Back to a world that had happiness and joy. A world far away from The Pain.

He embraced his mind, and The Pain started to fade away. Then it disappeared, completely and utterly, as though it had never even existed in the first place. Like it was some horrible babysitter that came over unannounced whenever his mind left him.

Zhou Yu - yes that was his name, he remembered it now - slowly opened his eyes. He found himself drawing for breath. It filled his lungs and left his mouth with a soft _whoosh. _Meaningless. A voice cried, and he started off the ground he lay on with a gasp. He touched cold dead fingers to his neck, where the jugular vein should have been pumping blood from his heart.

Nothing.

No sound, no beat, no steady rhythm of his heart. No blood pulsing through his veins any longer. He gave a great shudder as his senses awakened. There was a strong smell. It stunk through his clothes, around the alleyway he was sitting in. It was overpowering. It was everywhere.

It was food. And he found that he was hungry. Famished. A low growl started in his throat, and his mind started to walk out the door again. He cut the growl off with a sort of strangled sound in surprise. He didn't want his mind to leave, that would mean that the pain might come back. He suppressed the urge to eat so that his mind wouldn't leave. It came back, hugging him tightly.

It was then that he realized that someone was leaning over him with a concerned face.

-x-

Zhao Yun slipped into an alleyway, tracking down one of the vampires that had been preying the people so openly. This was his territory, and this group had invaded long enough. He heard a snarl, and his speed picked up. He nimbly avoided any and all obstacles with unearthly grace. He saw the other vampire, smelled the victim starting to die, but he tore the other vampire off of the human, preoccupied now with learning the intentions of the vampire.

"What are you doing here?" He hissed so rapidly that a human would never be able to decipher the words from the hiss. "This is my land!"

The other vampire snarled. "Traitor blood!" He snarled, aiming a kick at Zhao Yun's head so fast that it wouldn't have even happened through the eyes of a non vampire. Zhao Yun dodged nimbly, and a few carefully executed moves later and the other vampire was overpowered.

"What are you doing here?" Zhao Yun repeated, and his eyes flashed red threateningly.

The other vampire grinned. "We are curious. Why would a group of vampires like yours give up eating our natural prey? Humankind is nothing to us. They are alive for our benefit. Why do you suppress your nature so?"

Zhao Yun glowered. "We were all once humans. I would much rather live in peace with them than be their mortal enemy. So unless you want to die, leave our territory."

The other vampire laughed. "No. Why should we? If you'd rather be 'vegetarians,' then we shall stay here to eat the humans you do not."

Zhao Yun disposed of him quickly. Slicing him to pieces as was the only way to totally destroy a vampire. Garlic, stakes, holy water, none of those weapons in old human folklore worked in real life.

The human behind him started to scream, and Zhao Yun turned around. A horrible transformation was taking place once again. Even he, so long a vampire, could remember the pain of the transformation and shudder with fear. This poor, unsuspecting human had no idea what was happening. Zhao Yun sat down sadly to wait for the pain to end. It took three days of pain, and then two days of utter mentally exhausting exercises as you tried to piece together who you were, what happened, and if the pain would come back.

But the pain never did come back. Once you change into a vampire, you are alive, but you are undead. You have feelings, and fears, and loved ones just like humans. But then, one major thing that set vampires apart from humans happened after the confusion of waking. Because once a vampire awoke, there was the hunger. The terrible hunger that vampires are feared for. Zhao Yun watched intently as the once human before him fought with the hunger.

He stood from his week-long vigil and stretched his arms skyward more out of habit than an actual need to stretch his limbs. So far, as he watched the young man sniff the air and his eyes become crimson, it looked like he would have to stop this one from attacking people. But then the eyes widened, flickered, and darkened back to the normal color. The new vampire was shocked into real life.

Zhao Yun leaned into the young man's face, studying the eyes. He had suppressed the need to feed so quickly.

"Who are you?" Zhou Yu heard himself say, in a voice that was far more entrancing than ever before. He gazed up at the man staring at him so quizzically. Then he tore his gaze away looked around himself, at the alley and the reflection-less glass at his feet. "Why am I alive?"

Zhao Yun put his hands on each of Zhou Yu's shoulders, his soft brown eyes calming. "You have been attacked by a vampire. You are still 'alive' because I was able to get him away from you before he could suck your blood." His hand grazed the young man's neck where the puncture marks had been before on the jugular vein. "Unfortunately his venom had already been injected into you. You are a vampire now, as I am."

He forgot to breathe, wrenching away from the man and backing up away from the glass. He glared at Zhao Yun. "You lie!" He hissed, "Vampires are not real!" However, doubt had already made its way into his mind, corroding the edges of his bold statement.

"Unfortunately, monsters that consume the blood of humans do exist." The uncannily beautiful person in front of him said sadly. "You remember the pain."

Shrinking back even farther away, Zhou Yu turned and took a step to run away, and suddenly Zhao Yun was beside him again, grabbing him by the shoulders and staring into his frightened eyes. "Where will you go?" He asked, watching the eyes intently as they frantically searched his face. "What will you do? Will you drink the blood of a human? Of someone you care about without meaning too?" His voice was cold and sorrowful. "Will you let that never ending bloodlust consume you as well?"

Zhou Yu gasped, fighting in the older vampire's grip. "No! Never!"

Zhao Yun felt a slight smile cross over his face. "That is what they all say." The smile vanished. "Come with me then. Even if you do not drink the blood of a human, you must eat, or blood lust will consume you and make you kill a human - even if you don't mean to."

Zhou Yu thought back on the hunger he had felt when he had first awakened. What if the man in front of him wasn't lying? What if he actually did lose his mind and kill someone he really loved? Someone like Sun Ce. He shivered unintentionally at the thought. If vampires were eternal and fed on human blood, then there was a good chance that he would kill Sun Ce and never have him again, forever.

"What you say makes it sound like you have found an alternative to drinking the blood of a human. What is it?"

A friendly smile crossed over Zhao Yun's face at the words. "Its not as...nutritious or as filling as human blood, but animal blood does just as well to sustain us. Any life animal will do, we have learned. But it will be difficult, do you understand?"

"But it will stop me from killing humans?" Zhou Yu pressed, pushing back a slight wave of irritation.

"Perhaps," Zhao Yun said slowly. "Humans, especially if they are bleeding, are extraordinarily attractive to us. Like a perfume, or like a human who is forcing himself off of a drug and suddenly found himself in a room stocked with cocaine. Especially those that we felt closest too when we were humans." Zhao Yun said. "I would stay away from them until you have more experience under your belt."

"Where do vampires go?" Zhou Yu asked, his mind reeling with this influx of information. "Do you live in old mansions and sleep in coffins?"

Zhao Yun laughed, his eyes twinkled with amusement. "No, we do not need coffins to sleep in because we do not sleep." He took Zhou Yu's astonished face in stride. "The living dead do not sleep. 'The living dead do not see their own reflections because they do not belong in the world of the living.' That is what an old friend of mine said to me, a few centuries ago."

"Just how long have you been alive?" Zhou Yu asked, astonished.

Zhao Yun smiled, "That is a tale for another day." He grabbed Zhou Yu's cold dead hand. "Come, we shall run, you'll find that being a vampire is not such a curse."

"Where are we going?"

"You and I and all the other vampires who have chosen this life have a life time check-in at the old Victoria Suit Hotel."

And then they were gone. It took Zhou Yu a moment to get his feet under him, and then he was running just fine next to Zhao Yun. The city was deserted. It was storming again and it was the dead of night. The wind whipped through his hair and blew over his face. The speed was exhilarating, almost as though he was flying, his feet hardly touched ground.

It was then he realized how truly slow humans lived their lives. How could he have lived at such a sluggish pace before? Vampires were deadly, they had the grace and skill that made them perfect hunters. He noted that his eyesight was immensely improved, as were his hearing and smell. He could react much faster and quicker than even an olympian sports man.

When he was human...the thought of that dropped a frozen stone into his stomach. How could he possible think such a thing? All these new improvements gave vampires the ability to kill humans for one purpose. The same as it was in any predator/prey relationship. They were used against people such as Sun Ce. What would happen if he encountered his room mate and was not fully prepared to fight this thriving bloodlust that reared its ugly head every time they raced past a human? Zhao Yun spoke of how those that vampires were close too in the human life were often a far more attractive source of prey than other humans.

The thought of never seeing Sun Ce again was torture. Without his cheery smiles that brightened every day, even an immortal existence looked dark and bleak. Despair welled up in his chest. How long had it taken him to change? He must have worried Sun Ce sick. But he couldn't see him, not now. Not if he lost his mind and the bloodlust took over him.

"We're here." Zhao Yun said, stopping at the foot of the large Hotel. "Victoria Suit hotel. I'll introduce you to the family." Zhou Yu was jolted out of his thoughts, and vaguely disappointed that they had stopped. It had been so . . . _exhilarating _to run so fast. He mulled this over before he realized that Zhao Yun was holding the door open for him. He hurried up the steps and entered the old hotel door.

Whatever it was he had been expecting what he saw next was not it. It was perfectly clean, no dust, not even a speck of dirt anywhere. Although it was an old hotel, it had been modernized. The lobby was set up like a large living room, with fluffy couches and chairs, all faced toward a large flat screen Television that could have been in a movie theater. Sound speakers surrounded the room, all hooked up on the walls. What had once been the greeting desk had been transformed and now held a computer with every hook up imaginable.

Zhao Yun chuckled at Zhou Yu's astonished face. "Still think we live in coffins and such nonsense? If you're going to live forever, one might as well live in comfort."

"How did you get all of this?" Zhou Yu asked, shaking his head at all the merchandise in the room.

A quiet laugh from the couches - which he had been sure was empty before - made him whirl around. The boy on the couch wore a red T-shirt and baggy jeans - all the semblances of a high school teenager. He brushed a hand through his hair and flashed a pearly white smile at the two in the doorway. "Hey there, welcome to the vampire hotel." He chuckled, standing up and stuffing his hands in his pockets. A moment later he was in front of them, checking Zhou Yu over. "Dude, you reek with the stench of humans."

Zhao Yun pushed past the other vampire, taking Zhou Yu with him. "That is Ling Tong," he said to answer an unasked question. "And as to how we received all of this - we live among humans, and we have jobs like the humans. Consequently, over the years we accumulate quite a bit of money."

"And we use that money to get whatever we want." Ling Tong finished, dropping back onto one of the couches. "You should really shower or something - you just turned so you still stink like a human."

Nodding at Ling Tong's ever so helpful suggestion, Zhao Yun looked around at the vacant room. "Where are the Qiao's?"

The figure on the couch shrugged, flicking on the TV. "Xiao's in the kitchen's, and Da went shopping I think. The girl loves to shop, Xiao wanted to go to, but she was hungry and didn't want to risk it."

Nodding, as though he already knew this, he dragged Zhou Yu to what must have been the kitchens. Once again, he found himself astonished. It wasn't really a kitchen as much as a storage area for chickens and other small animals. "This is the kitchen. These animals are less nutritious than large ones such as bears and cougars and such, but they sustain us in the city."

He opened a cage and took out a rabbit. It shook with fright, staring up at them with wide eyes. He handed it to Zhou Yu - who took it in his cold hands and felt the warmth of the blood pulsing through it. "Xiao is down in the cellar, he muttered to himself, then gave the rabbit one last pat on the head. "Drink their blood, not human blood. It's much better that way." He stopped and turned back - hesitating a moment. Then he waved the thought aside. "I shall tell you later, eat now." And he vanished from the room, clicking the door shut behind him.

Suddenly surrounded by all the live beings in the room _alone _made the bloodlust that he had been holding back erupt with a snarl. The last thing he heard was the scream of the rabbit in his hands as he bit into its neck. His eyes changed dark red at the first drop of crimson he swallowed. Instead of a rustic, metallic taste in his mouth - as should be expected - it was more appealing than anything he had ever tasted.

His mind took a back seat as he ate, watching his progress and only moving back to the front when he was full. He looked around with suddenly clear eyes - feathers from the chickens blanketed the floor as did the rabbit fur. He looked up as a hand alighted on his shoulder.

"Hiya, remember me?" The girl that had come in late to class that one day smiled and greeted him. "Your name is Zhou Yu right?" She looked around at the mess of the kitchen. "Come on, I'll help you clean up, and show you what we do with the bodies." Once they had gathered up all the dead bodies - Zhou Yu was amazed that he had killed so many, not really remembering that he had done so - She led the way to the cellar.

It was really a large fireplace rather than a cellar. Xiao Qiao dumped the bodies into the open fire and watched as they burnt up in the flames. "Dump yours in too." She instructed, and he did as he was told. "Okay, now we go get the feathers and fur and do the same thing." She skipped up the steps, her little arms swinging back and forth. She grabbed two brooms and dust pans and handed one to Zhou Yu. Once they had finished, Xiao smiled at him. "There see? Good as new!" She grabbed his hand and led him out of the kitchens and back into the lobby, humming a tune absently.

"Where are we going now?" Zhou Yu asked the girl. Now he understood why her eyes had flashed like they had when they greeted each other in the lecture hall. She must have been hungry.

"You need a shower." Xiao stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "I'm sure you know how to do that without help." She said. "We usually don't need to take showers, but it makes us feel better. And anyway, wait until you see our bathing area!" She giggled, opening a door and leading him down a flight of stairs and through another door at the end of a hallway.

There she stopped and giggled at his astonished expression. The bathing area was huge. The college swimming hall dwarfed the 'bath tub' in this place. "Oh." He muttered, wondering why they went through such extreme measures for something they didn't really need.

"Some of us really like swimming, and since bathing is just something we do to feel more human, we like doing both at once. There's soap, shampoo, towels and stuff over there," She pointed to a closet door, then she skipped out of the room merrily, humming once again.

Zhou Yu stripped his old clothes and left them in a heap on the floor. Upon opening the closet door, he took out the supplies he needed and closed it. Looking down at the water, he saw no reflection. He saw the supplies in his hands floating in the air, but he wasn't there.

'_The living dead do not see their own reflections because they do not belong in the world of the living.'_

He remembered the words that Zhao Yun had quoted earlier and found himself suddenly scoffing. If vampires did not belong in the living world, then what were they? They acted just like all other animals, and yet they were dead. So what were they? As he bathed, he mulled this over but couldn't get anywhere.

As far as he knew, vampires had been created to install fright into humans as punishment for hubris. However he couldn't believe that it would be the reason for a race. He found that swimming under water was no problem. Vampires didn't have to breathe. They simply did so out of habit. This much he could guess, because he had to constantly remind himself to breathe whenever he was surprised. Unlike humans, if he did not remind himself he wouldn't breathe. It had changed from an involuntary action to a voluntary one. Much like dolphins, he mused, flipping around in the water to change directions and pushing off.

The water was scented, he was surprised to find, as it infiltrated his breath. It was not an unpleasant smell, but he suspected that it was used so that vampires could mask their rather appealing scent from humans. Zhou Yu pulled himself out of the water, drying off quickly. He went to the place where he had left his clothes, grimacing slightly at the thought of wearing them once again. But when he arrived he received a slight shock. His clothes had been replaced by a new set, newly bought and fresh, without smelling like human. Or like they had been anywhere near Sun Ce as his old ones had.

He slipped on the expensive stylish jeans and a white T-shirt that seemed of high quality material even though it was so plain. He noted the sense in wearing light colors, as vampires were unnaturally pale and dark colors would enhance that, making them seem unearthly and far more attractive to any human. He brushed his hair with a brush he saw waiting for him with his new clothes and exited.

There was a new girl waiting for him. She wore a white shirt and with a red vest over it and a blue skirt. Her hair was done up in braids that bounced merrily above her shoulders. The smile she sent at him brightened the room. "Hello, I'm Da Qiao, Xiao Qiao's older sister." She surveyed his clothes with a critical eye. "They do look good on you, do you like them?"

Zhou Yu nodded, assuming that she was the one who had picked them out. "Oh good! I was worried that they wouldn't fit, but I'm glad they do." She nodded primly to herself, then held out her cold, pale hand for him to take. "I'll show you to your room, and then we can go meet the rest of the family." Zhou Yu took her hand, and she led him through the hallways and all the twists and turns.

"We've remodeled a lot, so many of the doors you see tend to just be for show now. Gan Ning enjoy's it, because that's the one time he's allowed to knock things down." She giggled slightly. Though Zhou Yu wasn't sure he could share her enthusiasm, he didn't need to worry, as Da Qiao stopped suddenly and opened a door. "Here we are. This can be your room." Zhou Yu stepped inside, surprised by the space and light inside. The windows were shut with light curtains, and instead of a bed there was a couch. It wasn't anything like the large poufy couches in the lobby of the hotel, but it was sensible. A book case full of books stood along one wall, and a sound system on the other with a library of CDs. A wardrobe full of clothes was huddled in the corner next to a spacious desk that allowed for work.

"You can take out or add whatever you would like," Da Qiao said from the doorway. "We didn't know exactly what you wanted, but Xiao and I took a look at your apartment to see what you would like while you were being converted."

Zhou Yu's eyes widened and he felt annoyance well up in his chest. "You went into my house?"

Da Qiao nodded, "Yes, when your roommate was away." A worried look crossed her face. "You should give him a call. I'm afraid he might not be doing so well."

Zhou Yu's stopped short, forgetting any annoyance he felt at Da Qiao and her sister. "Ce? What's wrong with him?"

"He's worried. He doesn't know why you won't come home."

"Is it safe to call him?" Zhou Yu asked, worried that he might do something that he would regret for the rest of his life.

Da Qiao nodded, "It is safe. But right now, it's time to meet your new family." She grabbed his hand and pulled him back to the lobby.

A small group was waiting in the lobby, either sitting or standing. Ling Tong sat with his head on a spiky haired man's shoulder, Zhao Yun stood next to another man, the two of them were obviously the oldest and the leaders. Zhou Yu shivered, feeling the age and wisdom flowing from them. Another boy that wore a green sweater sat on a couch with his legs up to his chest and his arms encircling them. His chin rested on his knees and he stared at Zhou Yu unconcerned. Another young woman stood away from the others. Her dark eyes followed him carefully, her ebony hair was bound up to her head with a pretty hair clip. Unlike the others she made no effort to hide herself, wearing all black Lolita style outfit.

Xiao Qiao bounded forward and caught Zhou Yu's other hand, beaming at the people in the room. Zhou Yu felt a twinge of stage fright with all the frigid glares on him.

Zhao Yun smiled, warming the atmosphere in the room a few notches. "Are you feeling better now Zhou Yu?" Taking his nod in stride, which he seemed to do an awful lot, Zhao Yun swept a hand around the room. Everyone, this is Zhou Yu, Zhou Yu this is the family. I'll let you introduce yourselves." He gestured to the ageless man beside him.

"Ma Chao." He stated a bit wryly, watching Zhao Yun's theatrics with the other. "Pleasure to have you." He murmured, nodding his head in Zhou Yu's direction.

The boy Ling Tong was using as a headrest grinned. "Hey there!" He sprang to his feet and was in front of Zhou Yu not even a moment later, shaking his hands spiritedly. "I'm Gan Ning!"

Ling Tong pulled his head out of the couch cushion Gan Ning had been sitting in before he moved and sent a glare in the spiky haired man's direction. "You already know me," He grinned, but his eyes were still on Gan Ning.

The other long brown haired boy on the couch raised his chin off of his knees, "I'm Jiang Wei, nice to meet you." He sent him a friendly smile and a wave.

The girl in black hadn't taken her eyes off of Zhou Yu sense he had entered the room. "Xing Cai." She said, staring at him with cold eyes, her light voice was just as empty as her gaze. Zhou Yu happened to glance down at Xiao Qiao and noted the worried expression on her usually bright face. It must have been irregular behavior for Xing Cai, Zhou Yu decided, watching carefully.

Gan Ning captured his attention again. "So what kinda stuff do you like to do?" He asked, dragging Zhou Yu over to the couch.

Zhou Yu watched him for a moment. "I like reading." He said flatly, not sure why he cared.

Gan Ning shrugged. "Hey, that's cool. There are a lot of books you can read now, I doubt you'll run out."

Zhou Yu couldn't help but nod in agreement. "What do you do around here?" He asked, looking around at the large TV that had just turned on.

Ling Tong fiddled with the remote, looking for something to watch. "Well, right now we usually watch TV, but anything'll do I guess. As long as you don't go on a rampage. We don't sleep, so there's no worrying about what time you have to get up or anything."

Xing Cai disappeared, heading up to her own room as she decided the meeting was over. Jiang Wei moved to the computer silently. Zhou Yu realized it must have been routine for all of them.

Gan Ning scowled, snatching the remote from Ling Tong as he flipped through the channels faster than it was meant to be used. "Well, we do go out and stuff, we each have our own lives. Xiao and Da are in college, and you are too right? No need not to be, just make sure you're full before you go."

Xiao Qiao came up next to them. "Uh uh, I don't think Zhou Yu should go until he has better control of the blood lust. His room mate goes to that school, and has classes." A frown tugged at her pretty lips. "I don't know if I could stop you if you caught his scent and lost yourself."

Da Qiao came back into the room, Zhou Yu gave a jolt, he hadn't even realized that she left. "Here," She said, handing him a cell phone. "Call him."

Zhou Yu muttered thanks and left the room, heading for his own for privacy. The moment the door had shut, he dialed the number with shaking hands.

It rang three times before someone picked up. "Hello?" The voice on the other end was rather loud, and Zhou Yu remembered how his hearing had changed. But that wasn't the only thing that he caught in the voice. It was dead, mechanical, with no feeling at all.

"Ce?" He breathed, talking a little louder than normal, and shoving as much reassurance into the sound as he could.

"_...Yu?!"_

**TBC...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Blood Lust**

**The disclaimer is in the first chapter.**

**Chapter Three**

Sun Ce couldn't believe it! After a whole week of wondering where he was, hoping that he would be back, Here was Zhou Yu's voice on the phone. He thought he'd never hear that cold voice again but yet, he was hearing it. Maybe Yu was going to come back!

He felt a surge of anger. Finally! His week had been so..._empty..._

**-x- Flashback -x-**

Sun Ce pulled into the parking spot in the dead of night, singing off key to a song on the radio while Sun Shang Xiang's cat hissed at him from the passenger seat. "Aw shut up fluffy," He grumbled, gathering his books and grabbing the pet cage.

He was immediately assaulted by a barrage of wind and rain once he stepped out of the car's shelter. Slamming the door behind him, he squinted up at the windows above the coffee shop. They weren't lit. Either Zhou Yu was working, or he already went to bed.

"Fat chance of that," Sun Ce muttered, fiddling with the lock to the door for a moment. He shifted his bag to under his arms and dipped his hand inside the mail box, collecting the envelopes in his hand. "Weird, usually Yu gets the mail." He shrugged it off and ran up the steps, opening the inner door and flipping on the light. He placed the cat carrier on the table and dumped his books next to it Then he ran back down stairs and grabbed the kitty litter and other pet things from the back seat.

Shrugging out of his soggy sweatshirt and tossing the keys onto the kitchen counter, he left his shoes into a pile on the floor and got busy pouring the cat litter into a plastic box and shoving it in the corner. He dumped food in another dish and put it on the floor, the water bowl joining it soon after.

He walked over to the cat carrier and bent down in front of it. He peered at the fluff ball of a cat, which was currently backed up against the side of the plastic box and leering at him with wide blue eyes. It growled at him and he scowled, sticking his tongue out at it.

"Stupid cat." Ce muttered, opening the metal cage door and shoving a hand inside. He yelped and retreated quickly, staring at the scratch on his palm. "Ow!" He exclaimed, glaring at the beast inside the cave. He grumbled to himself about stupid sisters and temperamental animal. He stood looking at it for a moment, then dumped the cage over so that the opening was facing down. The cat came sliding out onto a pile of magazines and promptly ran under the chair.

Sun Ce shrugged and tossed the cage into the closet on his way to the kitchen. He fixed himself a sandwich and grabbed himself a soda. Plopping himself down onto the couch, he flipped through the channels and at with a laziness that he knew would get on Zhou Yu's nerves if he saw it. Finally he found a movie on HBO and let the remote rest in peace.

At around eleven at night he lifted himself from the couch and relieved himself in the bathroom. Shedding his clothes, he hopped into the shower, where he let his mind water. Where was Zhou Yu? He never worked over time much, so he should have been home by eleven, as long as he wasn't dishwashing. Ce turned off the water and got out. Drying himself off, his hair dripped water down his bare back as he wrapped the towel around his waist and went to his room. He frowned at the sight of Zhou Yu's work uniform hanging on the hook, still untouched from the morning.

"He must be washing dishes." Ce decided, digging around in the drawer for clean boxers. Donning a pair of striped ones he glanced at the clock again, worry digging its way into his side. He picked up the phone and dialed Yu's familiar Cell number, creasing his brow.

The Cell went right to the voice message. Yu had turned off his phone. Sun Ce left a brief message, summing up all his worry and anger. Hanging up the phone, he paced the living room for a moment, before kicking the side of the sofa and getting dressed. Pulling a hooded sweatshirt on, he ran out into the rain and into the coffee shop below.

"Ah Sun Ce!" Mrs. Wong, the owner of the restaurant and his apartment called to him from behind the counter.

Sun Ce managed a brief smile and came over to her. "Hey Mrs. Wong, do you know where Yu is?"

She looked at him with her round face for a moment. "No I am sorry, I do not." She said with her thick accent. "I was about to ask you. Mister Zhou Yu did not come in to work this evening. It's very unusual for him. He's always so responsible." She praised and cast him a worried look. "He is not at home?"

"No," Sun Ce replied, tapping his finger on the service counter for a moment. "And he's not answerin' his phone either." He waved to her. "I'm going to go look for him. See ya' later then."

"Take care!" She called after him as he shoved the door open and ran back out into the rain.

Pulling his cell out he tried Zhou Yu's number again but it was still off. Feeling panic gripping his gut he dialed a few more numbers, always with the same message; No one knew where Zhou Yu had gone. "Shiiiit." He said as he released his breath, pulling his hood up and running out into the rain again.

He looked everywhere he could think of, even a few bars that Zhou Yu would go to when he was to stressed. He looked in the stores that Zhou Yu frequented, but turned up fruitless. Kicking a trash can and knocking it over in sudden anger he let out a strangled yell.

Sometime near dawn he finally made his way home, furious. He slammed the door and trudged into the room, tired, wet, and cold. He kicked off his shoes and stripped off the wet clothes, glancing at the microwave clock on his way into the kitchen. Turning on a coffee pot, he took a hot shower, listening for the tell-tale sound of the door opening.

It never did. He dressed furiously, slamming the closet door shut and almost stepping on Shang Xiang's lazy cat. He scowled at it darkly and poured himself a cup of coffee. The liquid burned his tongue but he gulped it down, trying to wake his mind up.

He almost dropped the cup when the phone rang. "Hello?" He answered.

"Hallo, Sun Ce?" Mrs. Wong's voice sounded over the phone.

"Hey Mrs. Wong, what's up?" He asked, trying to bring some pep into his voice.

"Have you found Zhou Yu yet?"

He traced the edge of the coffee cup with his finger absently. "No, not yet, have you heard from him?"

"No, not from him. But I heard from one of his friends."

"Who? Did they give a name?" He asked, his mind clicking into action.

"No, they did not." Sun Ce's face fell.

"Well, what did they say?"

Mrs. Wong's voice sounded concerned. "They did not say who they were, but they said that Zhou Yu would not be working here anymore. I was veery suspicious. That did not sound like him to me. I told them that you were looking for him. They said to never come looking for him again, because he was finished with you forever."

Sun Ce's heart froze. What did he mean, 'finished forever'?! Doubtful thoughts clouded his mind for a few minutes.

"–alright?"

"Huh?" Ce asked, bringing his mouth back to the phone. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"I said, 'are you alright?'"

"Oh..." He stared at the half empty cup next to him on the counter. "I dunno." He muttered absently. "Hey Mrs. Wong, can I have a bit of time off? I'm not feeling very good."

"Of course dear -"

"Thanks." He hung up absently and dumped the dark liquid into the sink, watching it swirl and disappear down the drain. He dropped the mug after it and went into the bedroom. He stared at the half made bed for a moment, with the dark sheets that he and Yu had picked out when they first started living together.

He collapsed face down onto the bed and let himself lie there. He turned his head and stared at the picture on the bedside table. Him and Zhou Yu just out of high school. Diplomas in hand. He had tossed his hat into the air. Zhou Yu had wrapped an arm around his shoulders. His dark hair flowed with each movement, and he was actually smiling happily. A real smile, not those half smiles that he always gave. This was the smile that made Ce's heart soar a mile a minute.

Maybe Yu was fed up with him. Sun Ce moaned and put his hands over his eyes, it wasn't like he made things easy for him. It wasn't his fault really. He just never stopped to think what the consequences of his actions were. He was to busy enjoying life and never stopped to wait for Zhou Yu to catch up.

He stared at the picture a little while longer until his eyes drifted closed. On his way down into slumber, he heard a small noise from the window but was to exhausted to care. He spiraled down into darkness and didn't come back up for days.

Then there was a large crash somewhere near his head, startling him awake. He raised his head in a semi stupor. The window was wide open and the drapes billowed in the wind, scattering wind and rain into the room. He looked down, and found the bedside table next to the window knocked over. He sat up, joints cracking from being motionless for so long.

There was a flash of color out of the corner of his eye. He moved his head so fast that his neck cracked and the room spun.

Just the cat.

He pulled one foot over the edge of the bed and felt the cold wooden floor with his toes. His other foot met it and he made his way slowly to his feet, trying to keep from dizziness. Even so, he felt so thirsty that his body felt weak. He put his face in his hands, covering his eyes and making his way towards the window with shuffling bare feet.

He felt a sharp pain in his foot and leapt away from it, falling against the dresser. The furniture scraped against the floor and slammed against the wall, but Ce wasn't paying any attention. The picture frame of their last high school moment had shattered, glass was everywhere on the floor.

The cat mewled and rubbed itself on his legs, looking at him with hungry eyes. Sun Ce kneeled down and withdrew the picture from the broken frame, sighing heavily. For a moment he thought about the memory of that day, then he folded the picture in half so the white was showing and let it fall back to the floor.

He turned to the cat and picked it up, bringing it to the kitchen and dropping it onto the counter. He mechanically filled the water and food bowls and escaped to shower again. He stayed in the shower until well after the hot water had run out. His body was numb. He let his head fall back and captured frozen droplets of water in his mouth, letting his eyes close. Cold water filled every pore of his body, and stopped his mind from thinking anything but 'God how cold this is.'

And it felt completely fantastic. His long hair fell around his face like a dark curtain, dripping water onto his skin. Suddenly, he felt tears sting his eyes. He fell against the wall of the shower, letting hot tears mix with the cold water. So he stayed in the cold shower, in the privacy, he let himself break down into tears.

His heart felt like it had been ripped out of his body. His chest felt tight, bound together with ropes and chains. He started coughing, shivering from the cold of the water. Finally he'd had enough; he shut off the faucet and stepped out of the shower. His white hands gripped the porcelain sink as he coughed, his eyes stared at his misty reflection through his curtain of hair.

The hacking coughs tore at his torso, as he tried to quiet them. They worsened, and he covered his mouth with his hands, doubling over in pain, still dripping with frozen droplets of water. Finally the fit ended, and Sun Ce made his way slowly to his feet. He shakily covered himself with warm clothes and escaped to the kitchen to make food and boil a pot of coffee.

After he had his food, he collapsed onto the couch and clicked the TV to a channel. "Oh come on." He groaned, changing the channel in disgust to get away from the soap opera.

And it clicked on -wouldn't you know it - **Brokeback Mountain**. Sun Ce changed it to Comedy in a fruitless effort to find something without any romance.

All attempts were made in vain apparently, as he watched Saturday Night Live make fun of Celebrities and their love lives. Sun Ce stretched out across the whole couch, bare feet hanging off the end of the sofa, his head propped up on pillows as he clicked the channels for an action film.

He finally found one and watched without really watching. He turned the volume up all the way so that the loud explosions would drone out any depressing thoughts. Sometime during the film the cat jumped onto his chest and let itself be petted.

He smiled faintly and scratched at the its fur. "We've both been abandoned, haven't we fluffy?" The cat looked at him, purring loudly on his chest. He had no idea how long he stayed in that position, hours, days, years. Thoughts came and went. He watched the ceiling fan creak around and around in circles. The movie on TV changed but he didn't really care. The person he did care about wasn't there, and hadn't been there.

The phone rang, and Sun Ce jumped into a sitting position, making Fluffy fall of his lap, but not without first scratching his chest. "Ow, damn it." He groaned, massaging the scratched area as he walked to the phone.

"Hello?" he answered, leaning against the kitchen counter and examining the cut on his foot, swallowing the hope that maybe, just maybe, it would be Zhou Yu.

But it was just a telemarketer. He slammed the phone down with a little more force than necessary, finally noticing for the first time how truly loud the TV was. He turned it off with a furious click and slammed his fist into the wall. Of course that angered him even more, and he let out an infuriated yell.

Then the phone rang again. He turned towards it, breathing heavily, a furious look in his eyes. He took a deep breath and calmed himself, stepping slowly towards the telephone on the counter. He watched it ring a moment, letting his hand hover over the curve between the receptors.

On the third ring he picked it up and brought it to his ear. "Hello?" He was surprised by how emotionless his voice was.

"_Ce,"_ The voice on the other end almost sounded breathless and gruff. But he recognized it. It filled his heart with Joy, and for a moment he thought everything would be alright again.

"Yu!"

**-x- End Flashback -x-**

"Where the hell have you been?" Ce snapped, feeling anger flare in him. "Do you know how worried I've been?! Well?!"

"I'm sorry." Yu's voice sounded weak on the phone.

He scoffed, "Yeah, well sorry isn't going to cut it right now!" His voice was laced with venom. "Where are you?!"

"I can't tell you."

"Can't tell me?" Sun Ce said, his heart stopping. "Well, when are you coming back?"

Silence; then, "I'm not."

"What do you mean, 'you're not?'" Ce demanded, slamming his hand against the wall again.

"Just what it sounds like, I'm not coming back." Zhou Yu's voice seemed calm and composed, like he was trying to calm a little child. "What I should say is, I cannot Ce."

"Bullshit." Sun Ce spat. "You can come back whenever you want. You just wont. What the hell is wrong? Why can't you come back?"

There was another long pause. "I can't tell you Ce."

"And why the hell not?!" He was getting angrier with every vague answer. He felt tears sting the back of his eyes. "Why can't you?"

"I don't trust myself enough." Yu's voice was soft and quiet with a layer of melancholy.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, that I don't want to hurt you Sun Ce."

"Why would you hurt me?"

"I cannot say. Just trust me when I say that I will not be able to be near you for a long time."

"No." Sun Ce said suddenly. "I won't trust you when you say that, because no matter how far you've wandered, you've always come back. So I know that you'll come back Yu."

"Ce, this time its different."

"No it isn't." Ce felt himself rising out of his depression. "Promise me, that you'll come back, that we'll see each other soon."

"Ce, I can't make that promise."

"Just say it."

"I can't."

A twinge of annoyance. "Sure you can, just two words Yu."

"Ce," Zhou Yu was starting to get angry, the tension was in his voice. "I'm not coming to see you because it would be the death of you. I will not hurt you." The phone went silent.

Sun Ce gazed at the receiver for a moment before turning it off. His gaze was thoughtful. What did Zhou Yu mean when he said that he'd hurt him?

He shrugged it off as Zhou Yu strangeness, giving the first beaming smile he'd given in a long time. "Hey Fluffy!" He picked up the cat and spun it around in circles, laughing in delight before dropping the animal back to the floor. "Zhou Yu's gotta come back now. There's no way he can be happy with me not around, is there cat? You heard him didn't you? How sad he sounded? Soon he'll come back, don't worry." He smiled, throwing open the windows and listening to the rain fall, turning on every light in the house to lift the atmosphere up.

Zhou Yu would return soon enough, of that he was certain.

**-x-**

Zhou Yu sighed, threading a hand through his hair, his face the perfect look of tension.

A knock came at the door. He felt the unmistakable power of Zhao Yun before the knob even turned. He glanced at the powerful vampire, still holding the phone in his pale hand. Zhao Yun's green eyes were kind as he approached him and put a hand on his shoulder. He slowly drew the cell phone away out of site. "You didn't tell him."

"No," Zhou Yu said softly, turning his head away. He felt tears sting the back of his eyes, and his vision turned red.

"Shh, little fledgling." Zhao Yun calmed, smoothing back his hair like a parent and leading him to the chair. "No need for those tears." He gave an encouraging smile that Zhou Yu didn't see as he was still turned away.

The young vampire blinked the blood tears back, keeping his gaze on the window outside. He felt confused, why would such a thing affect him so much. It wasn't as though he'd never be able to talk to Sun Ce. And if he learned to control himself, maybe he'd be able to see him again, though at a distance would be best.

"Ah young one, it is natural for you to feel. As vampires we are more in tune to everything around us, and that includes our emotions." Zhao Yun said softly, standing behind him in the chair and running his fingers soothingly through his hair. "Its just one more adjustment that needs to be made." He watched the dark hair trail across his hands and fall gracefully back to join the rest of Zhou Yu's silky threads. "And as for your hope that you'll see Sun Ce again, don't put it out of your mind. It will happen, that much is certain. One way or another you'll see him again."

Zhou Yu bowed his head, eyes shadowed by his dark hair. He immersed himself in private thoughts for a long time. All the while Zhao Yun continued his methodical motions through his hair, eventually starting to hum an age old tune.

"Zhao Yun?" he raised his head and looked back, up into the carefully kind eyes of the elder.

"Yes?" his voice was quiet and composed. "What is it?"

"What is the origin of all vampires?"

**-x-**

"Oh! Its such a tragedy!" Zhang He moaned, putting a hand to his head and falling with theatric grace into his chair. "Poor little fledgling left the nest and met his end." He let his head fall to Sima Yi's shoulder. "My dear Yi, how will we cope with his loss?"

"He don't bother pretending that you care." Sima Yi said, disgusted by Zhang He's theatrics. He touched the smooth ivory skin of Zhang He's arm lightly, drawing his own pale hand up the other vampires arms gently. "You haven't been truly unhappy for centuries."

"True enough," Zhang He relented, Drawing Sima Yi's hair back behind his shoulders. "I've had no real cause to mope, while you my dear unhappy one, have been whining as long as I have been happy."

Sima Yi let a frown tug his features. "Its hardly my fault my dear. The world is not a happy place."

"It isn't?" Zhang He asked with mock innocence. "But our coven has been so happy for so long." He leaned forward and brushed his lips against Sima Yi's pulsing jugular, dying to taste the tender blood underneath. "And you are always so beautiful." He almost moaned, "The most sensuous taste I've ever known."

"He," Sima Yi curved his arms around Zhang He's waist and tilted his head to the side so that he'd have better access to his white skin. "If you want it, do so. There is enough time for me to take another victim tonight."

Zhang He smiled, kissing Sima Yi's throat, then letting his fangs break skin, the sensuous blood pouring into his mouth, infiltrating his senses.

_Beautiful._

**TBC...**

**Sorry, this is a rather late update, not to mention shorter than the other chapters. I'll introduce more and more characters as time goes on. I'm aware that this was a rather boring chapter, please forgive me for that if you can. I wanted to get Sun Ce's depression out of the way. **

**In case it isn't clear to you, Zhang He and Sima Yi are not part of Zhao Yun's coven, but a different and far older one all together. And yes, they are mates, in case THAT wasn't clear. Please Do not complain about it, that wont change a thing.**

**Thank you for all the support everyone. I've been suffering a lot lately with school and other issues, and it truly means a lot to me. And, please alert me to any mistakes, I sort of rushed some of the chapter and I didn't have time to proof read.**

**Oh yes, and Mrs. Wong, the café owner, has a heavy Chinese dialect. If you think her phrases are odd, please remember this. She's an immigrant from China...or so they say. **

**Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Blood Lust**

**The disclaimer is in the first chapter.**

**Chapter Four**

The rain was coming down thickly, like the ocean had risen up out of its great crater and was dumping itself on the city in waves. The streets were deserted, and it was so late at night that everyone was at home in bed. The rain was so horrible that no bar was open. The wind swept the rain down the street in a horizontal line. The hanging sign for Mrs. Wong's Café was swaying dangerously on its hinges.

There was a sole person out in the torrential rain. His golden brown bangs were plastered over his forehead and along the sides of his face. He was holding his arm to his chest and leaning against the wall, his shirt was plastered to his skin, discolored from the rain and a rustic color that ran down his side. The boy collapsed on the stairs with a moan, curling up on his side. Crimson blood ran down and mixed with the rain from his arm. It stained the stairs before it was washed away by the rain.

The boy turned onto his back and stared at the rain with glazed eyes. His eyes - already golden - started to shine like starlight in the murk. Had anyone been looking outside, they would have seen two shining pinpoints of light. Suddenly the boy let out a yelp of pain, his unearthly eyes widened in shock as the sun shone through the clouds, signaling the very beginning of a new day. His limbs tightened in shock, tendons stuck out on his neck as he rolled over onto his side once more. His hands gripped his head, tugging on his hair. He ground his teeth together and squeezed his eyes shut.

The boy's appearance was slowly starting to change. His nose elongated to form a snout, his fingers shrunk down to form paws. Golden blonde fur sprouted from the pores of his skin and covered his body. His tail bone elongated and formed a bushy wolf tail. By the time the strange transformation had ended, the sun had sunk back behind the clouds, and the boy - now a wolf - had collapsed on the steps.

-x-

"What is the origin of all vampires?" Zhou Yu's eyes were unblinking as he looked into Zhao Yun's eyes. "Do you know? What are we really?"

Zhao Yun cocked his head slightly to one side. "Do you think you are alive right now, Zhou Yu?"

The question caught the young vampire off guard slightly. "Of course I am." Zhou Yu declared hotly.

Zhao Yun smiled, "Indeed, it does seem that way, doesn't it?" he sighed and closed his eyes, almost wearily. "In truth, we have died, and been reborn - as is already known." His eyes opened again and he took Zhou Yu's hand, leading him to a chair and sitting him down in it. Taking the other seat across from it, he looked out the window by his elbow, taking in the city lights, before he returned his ageless gaze to the young man before him.

"Vampires are many things, my friend. We are dead, but we are living. In our blood there is ancient blood as well. An essence inside of us that we pass on every time we make a new vampire or otherwise infect another being. Our powers - amazingly enough - come from an ancient God - descended to Earth to wreak havoc upon the land. At first, the people of the land thought that he had come to aid us and guide us in prosperity. But then people started to disappear..."

"You speak of one who has experienced this first hand." Zhou Yu cut in, intrigued.

"Yes, I was a young boy when this had happened." Zhao Yun nodded before continuing. "For many years we just let pass by without questioning why, assuming that the God needed sacrifice or servants. But the people never returned, and more and more were taken to the keep - where the God had taken residence.

"A small group of warriors - myself among them - rode to the keep to investigate the issue. But too late did we find that the God was not a Devine being, but a demon. We caught him in the act of sucking the lifeblood of a woman. One of the warriors I was with cried out - recognizing the girl as his sister. The demon turned his attention back to us and we had no chance to return to the people in order to let them know what we discovered.

"When we tried to run, the demon had easily captured us. The more valiant - or foolish, you decide - had attacked him. Some of the warriors managed to escape as we distracted the demon, but myself and two others were taken captive. I know now that he let the others escape. For some reason, he wanted the people to panic as they had. The demon was so twisted and maniacal..." Zhao Yun's ancient eyes were lost for a moment as he remembered the panic and terror of the time.

"Back then people believed and were much less secure with each other. The powers of the Gods and Demons of the otherworld had great effects on us all." He shook his head lightly. "As I was saying, we were taken captive. We were viciously tortured and there was a darkness and chill to that castle. The evil miasma about the place weakened and drained our spirits. At first the three of us were penned in the same dungeon cell, but then he split us up.

"To this day, I still wonder what horrors he made the others go through. But he split me from them, as I alone had been able to withstand all the torture he subjected us to. My old friends were broken long before we were split away. He put me deep underground, in the darkest place I have ever known. He gave me a tomb of my own. And there was were he experimented on me."

"Experimented?" Zhou Yu repeated the word, not wanting Zhao Yun to stop. He hadn't realized how painful it was for Zhao Yun to recite all of this - if he had, he would not of asked. But now that the man was speaking of it, he found it so intriguing that he wanted to know more, as selfish as it was.

"Yes, he wanted to know many things, and he thought that I had the answers." Zhao Yun replied. "I have lingered on this for a while, and I think that perhaps the demon really wanted to know about mortality, or life." He looked at Zhou Yu wearily. "Then he bit me." He touched the side of his neck gently. "And he left me in the cell, alone while I changed into what I am today. He called me his greatest experiment.

"He left me alone in the tomb for years before he fed me." Zhao Yun held up a hand to stop Zhou Yu from interrupting. "You see, our kind is very resilient. We can stand a lot of pain. Hunger will not kill us, but it will weaken us to mere wraith like versions of ourselves. But it is painful, and only those children who do not want to live any longer will subject themselves to it. A kind of sleep of sorts, it is the closest thing we have to death - other than destruction. But while I was in that state, I dreamt for the last time." Zhao Yun's tone was slightly wistful as he spoke of dreams.

"To continue, The demon finally fed me - though I cannot deem how much time had passed - and I must say that I lost my mind from hunger and need. The will to live had returned, and I fought with him. Though in the fight I did not win, I managed to find out how to escape from that place.

"I have never been so delighted to smell fresh air or see stars than I had been in those first few days of freedom. In the years to follow, I discovered that I was no longer human, but I could blend in with them easily. I discovered that I needed the blood of living things in order to continue.

"And for a few thousand years, I lived like a wraith among human civilizations, living with people as they grew ever more grand, yet with increasing loneliness and despair as their mortal bodies failed them so quickly. Human's are so frail..." He stopped, looking into Zhou Yu's eyes again. "I loved them all, but I could not save them.

"And then, I found one that smelled so different. I was able to tolerate the scent of other humans by now, but the instant I discovered his scent..."

"You were unable to help yourself, and you hunted me down." Another voice spoke from the doorway. Zhou Yu started, glancing up at Ma Chao. He had not even realized that the other man had entered.

Ma Chao nodded his head to Zhou Yu and sat down beside Zhao Yun, brushing the ebony locks with his hand and pulling the narrow face up to meet his eyes. For a long moment, they stayed like that, then he sighed deeply and hugged Zhao Yun close. "You still feel guilt for it, and I cannot fathom the reason. You changed me, yes, but you would have killed me otherwise, and I have never been happier in all my mortal life, than I have been with you, here."

Zhao Yun smiled softly and rested his head on Ma Chao's shoulder. "I know this, but I still cannot help but feel that I took you from the gift of mortality." He turned his head to look at Zhou Yu again. "For mortality is a gift, young one. It may not seem like one to you know, but in becoming a vampire, the largest part of life - death, and whatever happens after death - will never be yours to understand. There is a quality to mortality that the immortal cannot understand. Life itself is precious, and must be protected. This is why I have vowed to not take a human life, less I have no other choice." He rose and left the room, Ma Chao following gracefully behind.

Zhou Yu pondered his elder's words, lost in his own deep and vast thoughts. He looked out the window, watching the people strolling along down the street below him. His thoughts turned to Sun Ce. Mortal life was so short, but an entire immortal life, of never seeing him again... he could barely last a week without longing for him. How could he spend eternity without seeing Ce again? "I will see you soon..." He vowed quietly to himself. But he needed to take control of himself, and these new powers and abilities that he suddenly possessed first.

-x-

Sun Ce had been catching up on his homework when he had fallen asleep. He lay on the couch, his head back against the head rest. His feet were kicked out under the coffee table. The table was covered in papers and in the center, his laptop with a glowing screen. Business tables were sprawled out, along with printouts for money management. An accounting book was hidden somewhere in the mass of papers, along with a long overdue paper.

Sun Shang Xiang's cat was laying on his lap with one of Ce's hands laying on its back. The cat lifted its head suddenly, its ears alert and staring at the door with wide eyes. It growled low in its throat and dug its claws into Sun Ce's legs. The young man groaned in his sleep, swatting at the cat and turning his head as though jerked. He slid down onto his side on the couch and buried his face in the couch pillow, slipping back into slumber.

An hour later, he shot awake and sat up so suddenly that he disrupted the papers on the table beside him with a rush of air. He ran a hand over his face and started gathering the papers and stuffing them in a folder, the best organization he could manage. One of the papers had slid under the couch, and he bent down to get it. He hesitated, one hand holding the flap of the couch up, the other reaching for the paper. His sister's cat was staring at him with wide, terrified glowing eyes. Its hair was standing on end.

He frowned, reaching his hand out to the cat, afraid that he had frightened it. The cat backed away and dashed out from under the furniture, making for the kitchen hastily. Sun Ce sat back up rightly, and stuffed the paper in the folder with the others. He shoved everything in his shoulder bag, then he hauled himself to his feet.

He skipped breakfast and coffee after glancing at the clock, and shoved a pair of shoes on his feet. He zipped up a light coat and lifted the strap of his bag to his shoulder. Taking up Zhou Yu's car keys, he left the apartment and yanked the door closed behind him firmly. He stomped down the narrow stairs and almost tripped over the junk that littered the bottom of them. Shoving the outside door open, he slipped outside and into the near torrential downpour which immediately had him drenched.

The rain was coming down so hard that he almost stepped on the large dog that was sprawled on the steps. "What the-" He couldn't help gasping even as he backed up against the door. "What the hell?" The golden brown coat of the animal was drenched. Surveying the animal, he noted that it looked starved, and there was a gash on its front leg that was still open. He bent down the check the animal's neck for a collar.

Nothing.

The canine's chest was heaving, and its eyes were closed. Sun Ce couldn't help but feel for the animal. It looked abandoned. And before he could help himself, he was heaving the animal up into his arms and stumbling back into the house.

The animal was heavier than it looked, and much larger. Going up the long narrow steps was a task in itself. When he returned to the inside of his apartment, he almost collapsed with the animal on the rug. Leaving his shoes in the middle of the floor, he tossed his university bag on the couch carelessly and went for the bathroom for towels. He dried the animal's fur hastily, hoping that the animal wouldn't wake up for fear of the animals reaction, but also hoping that it would so that he would be reassured that it would be okay.

He grabbed a bowl of water and microwaved some left over chicken from the Chinese diner and set them on the floor next to the dog. The next thing he did was get the first aid kit from the bathroom and tended to the animal's leg. He wrapped the gauze carefully around the leg and bound it tenderly. He looked at the large dog's beautiful shaggy coat and absentmindedly started to stroke the fur on the animal's shoulder softly.

The animal made a growling noise in the back of its throat before it slowly opened its eyes. The golden orbs were glazed over from pain. Sun Ce backed away from the dog slowly, not wanting to startle it. The dog rolled over onto its belly and lifted its head slowly. It seemed to be taking in its surroundings, regarding the food and water bowls with an almost human expression on its canine face. It turned its golden gaze to Sun Ce and gave him the same inquisitorial look before it bent its head down and started to eat the food in the bowl.

Sun Ce relaxed with a loud sigh of relief, and went to the kitchen. There was no chance he would make it to class now, so he started to cook a pot of coffee and pulled off his soaked coat. Leaving it dripping on a hook, he noticed that Fluffy - his sister's cat, was hiding on top of the refrigerator. Rolling his eyes, he reached up to pick the cat up and set it back down on the floor. The animal suddenly swatted at his hand and hissed mightily. Dropping his hands, he shot the cat a slightly amused look and went back to the living room.

The dog was now sitting up on its haunches and drinking water in great, noisy laps. Sun Ce regarded the animal as he held his coffee in his hands, feeling the warmth seep into his palms. He hadn't had an actual dog since his sophomore year in high school, when his pet was hit by a driver in the middle of the night. He lifted the cup to his lips and took a sip. The animal looked up at him and thumped its beautiful tail against the ground. Dry and well fed, the animal looked much better, and more content.

Sun Ce held out a hand for the dog to take in his scent. The dog stretched its neck and smelled his hand before giving it a hesitant lick. Ce smiled and scratched the dogs head. "Y'know what I think?" He said rubbing the animal's ears. "You need a name."

The animal wagged its tail once and seemed to be waiting for him to continue. "Hm," Ce dropped down onto the floor and set his cup next to him on the rug. "How about . . . Goldie?"

The dog snorted, and the corners of his mouth almost seemed to quirk in a smile. "Okay then," Sun Ce grinned at the animal. "Scruffy." The dog actually shook its head this time, much to Ce's amusement. "Don't like that one either?" He murmured rubbing the animal's ears. "Well what do you like then?"

The dog leaned against his hand, his tail thumping from the attention his ears were getting. As Sun Ce looked into the golden eyes, he noted how human they seemed, and how they almost seemed to gaze right through to his soul. "You are a strange dog, yknow that?" he muttered, almost to himself. He found it himself hard pressed to be all too surprised when the dog nodded at him, the gold eyes a bit _too _understanding.

He picked up his coffee cup and took a drink as he rose to his feet. "Well, I guess there are stranger things than super smart dogs..." He moved back to the kitchen. "We can find a name for you later." He sighed as he glanced at the clock. The dog followed him into the kitchen, its bad leg was curled up against its chest protectively.

When Sun Ce glanced down at the limping dog, he was sure that it had a half frustrated, half annoyed expression on its furry face. The dog sat himself down on the kitchen rug and watched with those eerie way-to-smart eyes as Sun Ce poured the rest of the coffee from the cup down the drain and watched it swirl down the drain with a detached gaze. His thoughts had drifted suddenly back to Zhou Yu once more.

At least he could talk to him now - which was the only thing that got him out of bed. That and the constant, throbbing wish that Zhou Yu would return. It was slowly driving him into steady madness, the need to see his dark haired opposite again. If he could just _see _him, everything would be different. If he could touch that ivory skin and brush his hand through those dark tresses...

He was never very good at long distance relationships.

Sun Ce started as something warm and wet touched his limp hand. His eyes wide, he glanced down at the concerned dog in no small amount of shock. He had forgotten where he was again. Smiling at the animal, he touched its head and left the kitchen. He was followed by the new shadow he had accumulated.

Sun Ce dropped down onto the couch and smirked at the dog. "I should just name you Shadow." He chuckled, a grin spreading across his face. The dog had a twinkle in his eye, and the man decided that the dog definitely had a good sense of humor. "Or maybe I should just go with Smarty." This time his smile was genuine, as the dog barked and thumped his tail with amusement. "Okay then!" He sat up in on the cushion and fought to make his face and tone serious. "I hereby dub you, Smarty! The smartest dog I've ever known!" The stern look broke halfway through his sentence and he started laughing harder than he had in days.

By the time his laughing fit was over with, he had tears streaming down his face and he was holding a stitch in his side. His breaths were coming in gasps, as he pet the new addition to the apartment. "Well, welcome home Smarty."

-x-

The rain had not let up all day and well into the night. Sun Ce's apartment was eerily quiet save for the creaking of the wind and the pelting of rain on the ceiling. Ce had fallen asleep on the couch once again, his head was slipping off the couch, and one arm had already fallen to the floor while the other was burrowed underneath the pillow that held his head. His blanket had fallen to the floor and his feet were well over the other edge of the couch.

A shuffling noise, and the blanket being draped across his body alerted his groggy mind that he was not the only person in the house. At first his exhausted mind had dismissed it as Zhou Yu, but there was something wrong with that statement. It made him frown and shift in his sleep because who else would it be?

His eyes shot wide open and he sat up so abruptly that the being that was standing over him yelped and fell backwards in surprise. Sun Ce snapped on the light and winced and covered them again at the brilliance of the overhead light.

When he lowered his hand again, he found the light remote slip out of his hands and hit the floor with a dull thud.

In front of him, sprawled on the floor and completely nude, was a young boy with all too familiar golden eyes and golden brown hair.

"Who the hell are you?!" Sun Ce growled at the intruder.

The young man slowly raised himself to a sitting position and looked up at the man slowly. Sun Ce didn't fail to notice the bandage on the boys wrist, or the way those eyes shone as he gazed at him. "I am Lu Xun, or maybe you recognize the name 'Smarty' more."

**TBC...**

**Thank you for the support. Sorry for not updating for ages, I'm hoping that things will get moving more quickly during the summer. Please leave feedback! The more I get, the better I can make this fic. **


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